The project creates hand-made prints from manhole covers, tramlines, and urban objects, Image by raubdruckerin

The ‘female pirate printer’ who creates fashion from manhole covers

Art collective turns street covers into unique patterns for clothes

It’s not often “manhole covers” and “fashion” are uttered in the same sentence, but for Emma-France Raff is an art collective turning manhole covers, grids, and street tiles into printing presses that capture the unique footprints of European cities.

Emma, who brings a whole new meaning to the term “streetwear”, gets some curious looks when she gets her roller, ink, and equipment out, and starts printing on the ground in public places.

“The main focus is to explore the surfaces of cities, searching for overlooked, seemingly insignificant details on the pavement, which turn out to be true urban design pieces. They reveal unobserved parts of cities that are full of history, diversity, and creativity. The process of converting a detail of the city into an image, displayed on somebody’s chest, can be considered as reversed street art. A part of the city is being extracted from its origin and brought to new life in a different context. By carrying the image around, people become part of the project themselves,” Emma said.

“The Berlin one is very nice because it has a lot of details, but I also like the abstract ones. There’s so much variety, you have thousands of different ones. They’re special because they always have something local.”

Emma, whose parents are German, was born in France. Her family moved to Portugal when she was nine, and she came up with the idea of using manhole cover as prints with her father while she was studying textile design in Porto.
She chooses cities partially based on the weather – rain doesn’t make good street printing conditions, and as she sees it, her customers become a part of it.

The reaction to the project has been intensively positive, with all prints being sold out for the time being. However, the team is currently working to create more hand-made prints to deal with the demand.

As well as selling prints, she also hosts regular street painting workshops at selected events, festivals, and neighborhood fiestas

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